The next morning.
On the way from Shin-Koganei Station to school, a girl with a brown, permed short bob was walking a little ahead of me.
The bass she had been carrying until recently had been replaced by a regular student bag, and I felt a little lonely for some reason.
“Good morning, Azuma.”
“Geh, Konuma... Morning.”
I wouldn't call it vacant, but she seemed somewhat dazed. ...Wait, did she just say ‘geh’?
“I didn't say it.”
No, don't read my mind...
“If you say so... Anyway, what's wrong? Lack of sleep?”
“N-Not really?”
“Why are you acting so suspicious all of a sudden?”
It was unlike Azuma. When I tilted my head in confusion, Azuma stared at my face for a few seconds before narrowing her eyes.
“...Did you, by any chance, see me yesterday?”
“...See what?”
Being questioned, I quickly averted my eyes.
“I knew I was seen...”
Wait, I didn't even say yes or no... However, there was no point in hiding anything from Azuma, so I decided to admit it early.
“Well, yeah... I was at Mac yesterday, and on the way back...”
“Seriously...? Uh, who were you at Mac with? Amane?”
She was probably worried about who else might have seen her. But, since the answer is what it is, it's a bit hard to say...
“No, it was with Erina-san...”
“Huh?! You, that's...!”
“I-I got Ichikawa's permission!”
“Is that so...? Then it's fine, but...”
In this case, the power of ‘Ichikawa's permission’ was certainly strong.
“When you said yesterday during lunch break that you had plans after school, that was it.”
“Well, yeah, but...”
“...?”
She was being unusually vague.
“Ah. I mean, it's not like Yutaka and I meet like that all the time, okay? Yesterday was pretty much the first time. Sure, we talk a bit after club activities, but...”
For some reason, Azuma-nee-san was giving me an excuse-like explanation.
“Oh, I see... So, why yesterday?”
“Well, I guess you'd ask that...”
She scratched her cheek with a wry smile.
“I'm sorry, Konuma. Don't ask what was said yesterday for now. ...I'll tell you properly later.”
“Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to pry, it just came up in the conversation.”
Feeling like I'd done something wrong, I was grimacing when...
“...Are you not very interested?”
She peered intently into my eyes.
“No, what's the correct answer here, ‘I am’ or ‘I'm not’...?”
When I said that in exasperation, she looked blank for a moment, and then...
“...Haha, both are wrong. You noticed quickly.”
A dry laugh escaped her lips.